David O. Russell shoots Uncharted fans in the heart with more movie adaptation news

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If you’re a regular reader of the gaming posts here at Tech Digest, you’ll probably be aware that we love the Uncharted PS3 games in a big way. We awarded Uncharted 2: Among Thieves our Game of the Year award in 2009, and are wetting ourselves with anticipation over the release of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception later this year.

We’re also excited about the prospect of an Uncharted movie. Or at least we were until director David O. Russell started getting some “off the chart”, so to speak, ideas about what constitues an Uncharted film.

Speaking to IGN recently, he’s got Uncharted fans once again pulling their hair out, as the movie adaptation, planned for a 2013 release, veers ever further away from the original vision layed down in the Indiana Jones-style games.

So, Russell’s reasoning behind choosing Uncharted as his game adaptation of choice: “Because it’s centred around a family, and I like the combination of criminals and truth”, he said.

“I think if we take that family dynamic that we have in The Fighter, and put that in terms of a grander stage, with a crime family that metes out justice in the world of art and antiquities. If you’re the head of a museum, or head of state, you’ve got to deal with them, and they’re badass.

“They’re like the Sopranos in some ways, but they have great taste, and they have a sense of justice.”

Erm, correct me if I’m wrong, but the Uncharted games are NOT about family, let alone Drake being a member of some mafia orginisation. There’s no mention of Drake’s family barring a distant connection to Sir Francis Drake, and the closest he comes to having any immediate family is the sometimes-shady Sully. Looks like it’s the only way Russell can convince silver-screen gangster stalwarts Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci to come into the fold.

Russell claims that he “loves playing” the Uncharted games, but this is increasingly sounding like a dusty old script being revived thanks to a potentially-semi-relevant and massively lucrative franchise and fanbase rearing its head.

His film “The Fighter” may be knocking out critics who’ve put it in contention for an Oscar, but Russell looks set to deliver a sucker punch with the Uncharted movie.